Month: August 2021

Denied (A Kelly Pruett Mystery) by Mary Keliikoa – Spotlight & Giveaway

~ Erika K ~ 3 Comments

Denied (A Kelly Pruett Mystery) by Mary Keliikoa

About Denied

Denied (A Kelly Pruett Mystery) Cozy Mystery/Woman Sleuth 2nd in Series Publisher ‏ : ‎ Camel Press (May 11, 2021) Paperback ‏ : ‎ 226 pages ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1603817832 ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1603817837 Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08V3G2Z73

A high-risk pregnancy. A dangerous secret. When her case turns deadly, can this investigator avoid racking up a fatal debt?

Despite her injuries, PI Kelly Pruett is eager to get back to work. So when a mommy-to-be hires her to locate her estranged dad, Kelly is thankful for the straightforward missing-persons case. But as she rummages through his trash in search of clues, she uncovers gambling debts to gangsters… and a blood-soaked severed finger.

With her investigation no longer cut-and-dried, Kelly’s hunt takes a deadly turn when her quarry is found driven off a cliff to his doom. And she’ll need more than her cop boyfriend’s help to expose the truth when the mob sends her a cease-and-desist notice with an explosive ending.

Can the determined detective take on the mafia and make it out alive?

About Mary Keliikoa

Mary Keliikoa is the author of the Shamus finalist and Lefty, Agatha and Anthony award nominated PI Kelly Pruett mystery series and the upcoming Misty Pines mystery series featuring Portland homicide detective turned small town sheriff slated for release in September 2022. Her short stories have appeared in Woman’s World and in the anthology Peace, Love and Crime: Crime Fiction Inspired by Music of the ‘60s. A Pacific NW native, she spent a part of her life working around lawyers. Combining her love of legal and books, she creates a twisting mystery where justice prevails.

When not in Washington, you can find Mary on the beach in Hawaii where she and her husband recharge. But even under the palm trees and blazing sun, she’s plotting her next murder—novel that is.

Author Links

Website: https://marykeliikoa.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Mary.Keliikoa.Author

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/mary_keliikoa

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/mary.keliikoa.author/

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20038534.Mary_Keliikoa

BookBub:  https://www.bookbub.com/authors/mary-keliikoa

Purchase Links

Amazon   B&N     Apple     Kobo

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Enter the Rafflecopter giveaway for your chance to win a $10 Amazon gift card!

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TOUR PARTICIPANTS

August 17 – Novels Alive – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

August 17 – I’m All About Books – SPOTLIGHT

August 18 – Island Confidential – SPOTLIGHT

August 18 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

August 19 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – REVIEW

August 20 – Author Elena Taylor’s Blog – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

August 20 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

August 21 – Laura’s Interests – SPOTLIGHT

August 21 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLIGHT

August 22 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

August 23 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW, CHARACTER INTERVIEW

August 24 – Baroness’ Book Trove – SPOTLIGHT

August 25 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog – SPOTLIGHT

August 26 – ebook addicts – REVIEW

August 27 – Literary Gold – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

August 28 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT

August 29 – The Book’s the Thing – SPOTLIGHT

August 30 – BookishKelly2020 – SPOTLIGHT

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The House on Crow Mountain by Rebecca Lee Smith – Blog Tour & Giveaway

~ Erika K ~ 4 Comments

Synopsis:

When her aunt suffers a stroke, New York portrait artist Emory Austen returns home to the North Carolina mountains to mend fences and deal with the guilt over her husband’s senseless death. But that won’t be as easy as she hoped.

Someone in the quirky little town doesn’t like Emory. Is it the sexy architect who needs the Austen land to redeem himself? The untrustworthy matriarch? The grudge-bearing local bad boy? Or the teenage bombshell who has raised snooping to an art form? Even the local evangelist has something to hide. Who wrote the cryptic note warning her to “Give it back or you’ll be dead? And what is ‘it’? As the clues pile up and secrets are exposed, Emory must discover what her family has that someone would kill for.

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Spotlight and Giveaway – The Spirit Woman of Lockleer Mountain by Elaine Faber

~ Erika K ~ 7 Comments

The Spirit Woman of Locklear Mountain by Elaine Faber

About The Spirit Woman of Locklear Mountain

The Spirit Woman of Locklear Mountain

Paranormal Mystery 1st book in 2 book series

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Elk Grove Publications (December 27, 2020)

Print length ‏ : ‎ 252 pages

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08RG27CNL

There are sightings of a woman and a mountain lion near Lockleer Mountain, seen at moments of crisis. Is she the legendary Native American’s Spirit Woman, sent to protect the community? Nate is convinced his sister, missing for three months, and surely suffering from amnesia, is the elusive woman. He fears she will not survive the coming winter months, living wild in the wood with a mountain lion.

While Deputy Nate Darling pursues a relationship with Lou Shoemaker, he and Sheriff Peabody pursue a drug dealer, selling to the youth at the Native American reservation. Things are even more complicated by civil unrest regarding the government’s secret plans to build a mysterious facility, a big box store, and a housing tract close to Lockleer Mountain, threatening the livelihood of the local merchants.

Is there any hope that the Spirit Woman, real or imaginary, can bring harmony to the troubled community? Will Nate be able to apprehend the drug dealer, locate his missing sister, maintain his budding romance, and guarantee the financial future of Lockleer Mountain?

About Elaine Faber

Elaine Faber lives in Elk Grove with her husband and four feline companions. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, Cat Writers Association, and Northern California Publishers and Authors. Her short stories have appeared in national magazines, have won multiple awards in various contests, and are in at least 16 anthologies. She leads a local writer’s critique group.

Elaine’s ‘Mrs. Odboddy’ mystery series has won annual awards with Northern California Publishers and Authors. Black Cat and the Secret in Dewey’s Diary, and All Things Cat, an anthology of cat stories, won Cat Writers’ Association 2018 and 2019 Certificates of Excellence.

Elaine enjoys speaking at author venues sharing highlights of her novels and her writing experience. She is currently working on two fiction novels to be published in 2021 and 2022.

Website and Blog: http:www.mindcandymysteries.com

Purchase Link – Amazon

dottedlineEnter the Rafflecopter giveaway for your chance to win a digital copy of The Spirit Woman of Locklear Mountain by Elaine Faber!

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TOUR PARTICIPANTS

August 23 – I’m All About Books – SPOTLIGHT

August 24 – Novels Alive – GUEST POST

August 25 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

August 26 – The Book’s the Thing – SPOTLIGHT

August 27 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

August 28 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

August 29 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog – SPOTLIGHT

August 30 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – CHARACTER GUEST POST

August 31 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

September 1 – BookishKelly2020 – SPOTLIGHT  

September 1 – StoreyBook Reviews – GUEST POST

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A Scone of Contention by Lucy Burdette – Blog Tour & Giveaway

~ Erika K ~ 1 Comment

Description:

A murderer’s out to spoil Hayley’s honeymoon in national bestselling author Lucy Burdette’s eleventh Key West Food Critic Mystery.

Key Zest food critic Hayley Snow and her groom, police detective Nathan Bransford, chose Scotland for their long-delayed honeymoon, hoping to sightsee and enjoy some prize-winning scones. But their romantic duo swells to a crowd when they’re joined by Nathan’s family as well as octogenarian Miss Gloria.

Nathan’s sister Vera takes the women on a whirlwind tour of some of Scotland’s iconic mystic places as research for a looming book project. But the trip takes a deadly tartan turn when a dinner party guest falls ill and claims she was poisoned. And then the group watches in horror as a mysterious tourist tumbles to his death from the famous Falkirk Wheel, high above the Forth & Clyde canal.

Vera and her friends deny knowing the dead man, but after observing their reactions to the fall, Hayley is not convinced. With one person dead, a second possibly poisoned, and the tension among Vera’s friends as thick as farmhouse cheese, Hayley fears her long-awaited honeymoon might end with another murder.

Far away from home, surrounded by unfamiliar faces, eccentric characters, and a forbiddingly gorgeous setting, Hayley must call on all her savvy to keep a killer from striking again and then escaping Scot free.

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Spotlight & Giveaway – Cajun Kiss of Death by Ellen Byron

~ Erika K ~ 10 Comments

Cajun Kiss of Death: A Cajun Country Mystery by Ellen Byron

About Cajun Kiss of Death

Cajun Kiss of Death: A Cajun Country Mystery Cozy Mystery 7th in Series Publisher ‏ : ‎ Crooked Lane Books (August 10, 2021) Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 320 pages ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 164385738X ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1643857381 Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08N6SMX1J

The next shot from Cupid’s bow may be fatal in USA Today bestselling, Agatha Award-winning author Ellen Byron’s hearty and delightful seventh Cajun Country mystery.

In Pelican, Louisiana, Valentine’s Day has a way of warming the heart, despite the February chill. But the air at Crozat Plantation B&B turns decidedly frigid when celebrity chef Phillippe Chanson checks in. And when the arrogant Phillippe–in town to open his newest Cajun-themed restaurant–perishes in a fiery boat crash, Maggie Crozat’s dear friend JJ lands in very cold water.

Did JJ, proprietor of Junie’s Oyster Bar and Dance Hall, murder Phillippe because he feared the competition? Might Maggie’s mother, Ninette, have bumped off the chef for stealing one of her cherished recipes? Or was the culprit a local seafood vendor, miffed because Phillippe was somehow able to sell oysters for a remarkably reasonable price, despite an oyster shortage?

Maggie had planned to devote her February to art lessons in New Orleans, a present from her sweetheart, Bo. But now she has to focus on helping her friend and her mother cross a murder charge off the menu. Meanwhile, Maggie receives a series of anonymous gifts that begin as charming but grow increasingly disturbing. Does Maggie have an admirer–or a stalker? And are these mysterious gifts somehow related to Phillippe’s murder?

Blood may be thicker than water, but this case is thicker than gumbo. And solving it will determine whether Maggie gets hearts and roses–or hearse and lilies–this Valentine’s Day.

About Ellen Byron

Ellen’s Cajun Country Mysteries have won the Agatha award for Best Contemporary Novel and multiple Lefty awards for Best Humorous Mystery. She writes the Catering Hall Mystery series, which are inspired by her real-life, under the name Maria DiRico. Ellen is an award-winning playwright, and non-award-winning TV writer of comedies like WINGS, JUST SHOOT ME, and FAIRLY ODD PARENTS. She has written over two hundred articles for national magazines but considers her most impressive credit working as a cater-waiter for Martha Stewart.

Author Links

Newsletter: https://www.ellenbyron.com/

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/ellenbyronauthor/

https://www.facebook.com/CateringHallMysteries/

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/ellenbyronmariadirico/

Bookbub:

https://www.bookbub.com/profile/ellen-byron

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/maria-dirico

Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/23234.Ellen_Byron?from_search=true&from_srp=true

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19130966.Maria_DiRico?from_search=true&from_srp=true

Purchase Links – PenguinRandomHouse – Amazon – B&N – Kobo – IndieBound

Enter the Rafflecopter giveaway for your chance to win a print copy of the preceding book in this series – Murder in the Bayou Boneyard: A Cajun Country Mystery by Ellen Byronr(U.S. Only)

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

August 16 – Novels Alive – GUEST POST

August 16 – The Avid Reader – REVIEW

August 16 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

August 17 –  The Book’s the Thing – SPOTLIGHT

August 17 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

August 18 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – REVIEW

August 18 – My Reading Journeys – REVIEW

August 19 – Mysteries with Character – REVIEW

August 19 – Literary Gold – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

August 20 – The Book Diva’s Reads – SPOTLIGHT

August 20 – Laura’s Interests – REVIEW

August 21 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

August 21 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

August 22 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW

August 22 – Author Elena Taylor’s Blog – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

August 23 – StoreyBook Reviews – REVIEW

August 23 – Hearts & Scribbles – SPOTLIGHT

August 24 – Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

August 24 – Christa Reads and Writes – REVIEW

August 25 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT

August 25 – Baroness’ Book Trove – REVIEW

August 26 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW

August 26 – Reading, Writing & Stitch-Metic – CHARACTER GUEST POST

August 27 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

August 27 – Reading Is My SuperPower – RECIPE

August 28 – ThisIsMyTruthNow – REVIEW

August 28 – I Read What You Write – SPOTLIGHT

August 29 – BookishKelly2020 – SPOTLIGHT  

August 29 – Dear Reader – REVIEW

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On Skein of Death by Allie Pleiter – Blog Tour & Giveaway

~ Erika K ~ 5 Comments

Goodreads description:

For Libby Beckett, opening her charming yarn shop, and introducing customers to the joys of knitting and crochet, is the work she was meant to do. Until the yarn she loves is used for murder….

 

Libby has come home to Collinstown, Maryland to live her dream and open her own yarn shop, aptly named Y.A.R.N., along the Chester River. To Libby, Y.A.R.N. stands for “You’re Absolutely Ready Now.” But the acronym changes whenever inspiration strikes, and customers add to the list of suggestions that fill the blackboard wall in a shop stuffed with color, fiber, and comfort.

 

Libby is thrilled when she lands famous Norwegian knitting celebrity Perle Langager for a series of events at Y.A.R.N. Libby’s English bulldog, Hank, has been modeling one of Perle’s doggie sweaters, and customers just can’t wait to see Perle in action. The mayor of Collinstown even decrees a Collinstown Yarn Day to celebrate. But once Perle arrives in town, she seems distracted and on edge. And when she’s found strangled with a skein of red yarn, Libby knows she has to solve a knotty mystery before her new life unravels.

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Mrs. Rochester’s Ghost by Lindsay Marcott – Excerpt, Guest Post, & Giveaway

~ Erika K ~ 1 Comment

Mrs. Rochester's Ghost

About the Book

Title: Mrs. Rochester’s Ghost

Author: Lindsay Marcott

Release Date: August 1, 2021

Publisher: Thomas & Mercer

Summary

Jane has lost everything: job, mother, relationship, even her home. A friend calls to offer an unusual deal—a cottage above the crashing surf of Big Sur on the estate of his employer, Evan Rochester. In return, Jane will tutor his teenage daughter. She accepts.

But nothing is quite as it seems at the Rochester estate. Though he’s been accused of murdering his glamorous and troubled wife, Evan Rochester insists she drowned herself. Jane is skeptical, but she still finds herself falling for the brilliant and secretive entrepreneur and growing close to his daughter.

And yet her deepening feelings for Evan can’t disguise dark suspicions aroused when a ghostly presence repeatedly appears in the night’s mist and fog. Jane embarks on an intense search for answers and uncovers evidence that soon puts Evan’s innocence into question. She’s determined to discover what really happened that fateful night, but what will the truth cost her?

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